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JAN 21, 2020
Bidding Ends 7 p.m. CST
hosted on:
OFFERING 20 LOTS
Limousin & Lim-Flex
Show Heifers • Breds • Bulls
Past Sale Highlights...
SALE MANAGEMENT:
KILEY McKINNA • 402-350-3447
[email protected]
www.mcmarketingmanagement.com
67- to 135-acre sub-units, which were then randomly assigned to
receive either supplement or no supplement.
Bailey carefully sub-divided the grazing test area so his team could
compare the effect on grazing caused by supplementation under similar
terrain, weather, cattle and management against non-supplemented
control areas. “Being able to compare against a control is what gives
us good real-life, solid data,” Bailey noted. “We saw immediately the
tight control aspect was what set this experiment apart from others in
the past,” said Mark Robbins, Research Coordinator for Ridley Block
Operations, which helped support the study.
Every 7 to 10 days, low-moisture cooked molasses blocks were
placed in the supplemented sub-units. Salt was also placed at half
of the sites in both sub-units. The research team then measured
differences in forage utilization by measuring stubble height as well
as by clipping and weighing, counting the number of fecal pats both
before and after supplement and salt placement and counting cattle
visiting the sites. They found:
• More cattle were observed in areas with supplement (32 percent)
than in control areas (3 percent).
• The increase in fecal pats was greater in areas with supplement (3.3
pats/100 square meters) than control areas (0.5) indicating greater
use and more time spent there.
• Change in forage utilization was greater in areas with supplement
(17 percent) than in control areas (-1 percent). For supplemented
areas, the increase in forage utilization was greater in moderate
terrain than in difficult terrain.
• Consumption of cooked molasses supplement was consistent across
all terrains with the exception of steep terrain in one pasture (0.34
lb./hd/d). It ranged from 0.63 to 0.85 pound per-head, per-day in
the other areas.
• Cattle consumed more salt near supplement than in control areas.
But providing salt did not affect where cattle grazed in this study.
Bailey’s work demonstrates placing cooked molasses supplement
blocks in under-utilized range land can be an important tool for
improving uniformity of grazing by beef cows in foothills range land
during the fall and early winter.
“This study clearly demonstrates that producers now have a chance
to open up more areas within these mountain pastures by using
supplementation,” Bailey notes.
RODGER, PATTY & CASSIDY WOODARD
33004 U.S. Hwy. 24 • Calhan, Colorado 80808
(719) 541-2309 • Rodger cell: (719) 439-2011
www.woodardlimousin.com
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• JANUARY 2020